Dallas County Manufacturers’ Association and Garland Chamber of Commerce

College

Richland College Garland Campus

Training

Ongoing technical and business training for 62 manufacturing companies.

Goal and Target Population

To provide resources, workforce training and job placement services for manufacturing companies in the Dallas
County Manufacturers’ Association who are members of the Garland Chamber of Commerce. Garland is one of the largest
manufacturing cities in the state, with more than 375 industry-specific companies.

Background

Richland College began working with the Garland Chamber of Commerce on specific training issues for area
employers in 2005 and has worked with the Dallas County Manufacturers’ Association (DCMA) since it was established
in 2006. Richland’s Garland Campus opened in 2009 to offer highly specialized corporate and workforce training to
the city of Garland’s manufacturing corridor.

Funding

Funding is provided by Skills Development Fund (SDF) grants awarded to Richland College by the Texas Workforce
Commission (TWC). Richland has received training grants totaling more than $2,500,000 for DCMA companies to date.
In August 2014, the TWC awarded Richland College an SDF grant for an additional $629,602 to train 334 employees at
DCMA member companies Ecolab, General Dynamics, J&A Manufacturing, Karlee, Kraft Foods, Marlow Industries and
Micropac Industries, Inc.

Specifics

​​Richland College has provided training for more than 2,000 employees in 25 DCMA member companies. Topics have
included management, industrial maintenance, Lean Six Sigma, manufacturing, business productivity, Microsoft Office
applications, language skills and safety. Certificate programs were also created for precision machine operator,
construction-masonry and office support specialist.

Challenges and Solutions

TWC policy specified that companies weren’t eligible to participate in subsequent grants for 12 months once
their SDF grant concluded — restricting the college’s ability to meet rapidly changing needs for high-tech
manufacturing companies. After meeting with colleges and companies about their concerns, the TWC changed its
restriction to six months.

TWC policy decreed a training mix for SDF grants to be at least 55 percent business technical, 45 percent
general technical and no more than 10 percent nontechnical training. To address this challenge, Richland partnered
with Senseability Technical Training LLC to provide a wide array of industrial maintenance training to its DCMA
companies. Richland’s 2014-2015 SDF grant comprised 67 percent business technical, 32 percent general technical and
1 percent nontechnical training.

Opportunity

With the TWC excluding soft skills from grant training, Richland’s Corporate Services Division has greatly
increased its offerings in this area with DCMA company partners to fill the gap in developing leadership and
supervisory skills with their organizations. The college is now on its third round of DCMA Leadership Academy
classes with the Garland Chamber of Commerce.

Strategies for Success

Richland College’s liaison maintains regular contact with DCMA companies through scheduled committee meetings
and on-site visits to discuss training and hiring needs. Seats on the Workforce Solutions of Greater Dallas board
of directors enable partners to have a voice at the local level. Representatives also maintain advocacy with the
Texas Workforce Commission, which administers the grants.

Outcomes

The primary outcome has been the successful training and maintenance of a highly skilled, stable
workforce in the Garland manufacturing corridor. DCMA member companies have noted sustained quality improvement,
higher production accuracy and efficiency, cross-training of employees, incident and injury reduction, and
increased employee morale.

Lessons Learned

Listening to and developing trust with business partners is crucial. Understanding their businesses and what is
required for them to be successful makes Richland College and DCCCD players in finding solutions to workforce
training and hiring challenges.

What Our Partners Say

Paul Mayer

CEO, Garland Chamber of Commerce and Dallas County Manufacturers’ Association

“
Larry Anderson, a highly respected leader in the U.S. on continuous improvement, summed up the
partnership between (DCCCD) and the Dallas County Manufacturers’ Association as a ‘best practice.’ There is no
higher designation than being a model of performing at the highest level. The Garland Chamber formed the DCMA in
partnership with the DCCCD almost 10 years ago. The millions of dollars of grant funds and the hundreds of workers
trained in that time are a testament to the success of the relationship. The economy of Garland, Texas, has
benefitted immensely from this unique collaboration.
”

Mark King

CEO, Micropac Industries Inc.

“
Micropac has received many benefits as a DCMA member company. We received training through a Richland
College/DCMA grant for broad-level skills development across our company. A couple of years ago, we experienced a
downturn in one of our divisions, while we had a significant increase in our sister division. As a direct result of
the skills training, we avoided layoffs by transferring employees across divisions who fortunately had the skills
training needed.
”